Tag Archive | Sunny’s Happy Home

June 1st 2011 was the date we “officially” heard the news about Kim Sun-Ah upcoming drama Scent of A Woman. But 6 years ago, Kim Sun-Ah made history in the Korean entertainment scene through My Name Is Kim Sam Soon.

It was June 1st 2005 when My Name Is Kim Sam Soon first aired with a 18.3% rating (nationwide – TNS). Eight weeks later, it broke the 50% rating (50.5% – nationwide – TNS) and had already captured (and still is capturing) everyone’s heart.

Time flies. Who would’ve thought that it was 6 years ago! And I wonder how Sam-Soon is now? Is she still doing fine? Is she happy?

And I guess I’m not the only one wondering how Sam-Soon is right now…

June 1st – official news of Scent of a Woman; first episode of My Name Is Kim Sam Soon; and Suna Unnie unexpectedly replied to my comment once again. I guess she gave me another reason to celebrate June 1st! 🙂 🙂 🙂

King Kong Entertainment and Suna Unnie herself, has officially announced it in Kim Sun Ah’s Official Facebook page last June 1st. There were also a couple of news articles that were published on the same date.

Here’s one from HANCINEMA (English). [NOTE: Their translation of the article was wrong. It will be on July 16, and not June 16th >.<] [NOTE 2: After I brought it to their attention, they’ve edited it! :)]

Alright, this has happened before in I Am Legend – when it was confirmed as her drama, but she quit almost at the last minute (which is a very very VERY wise decision! 🙂 ). So I really don’t want to keep my hopes too high, in case we get another disappointment. However, it’s a bit different this time because both her and her management company have made an announcement about this drama. Suna Unnie even played with the title, changing 여인의 향기 (Woman’s Scent) to 선아의 향기 (Suna’s Scent).

She once asked me how to say thank you in Filipino, but the stupid me didn’t understand what she was trying to say – until a few days after! (It was in Taiwan, last year. She said “謝謝 필리핀?” “謝謝 필리핀?” (xie xie Philippines?) and I was completely clueless. After much thinking and rewinds of the video that captured our moment together, it dawned on me that she was trying to ask me how to say thank you in Filipino. I’m still not 100% sure, but that’s the best that I can come up with with ‘xie xie philippine?’. She could’ve asked it in Korean and I could’ve understood. But maybe my failure to come up with correct Korean sentences has stopped her from doing so. And, although she’s quite good in English, she may not be that comfortable to talk in English at that moment, or she might not have found the rights words (just like how I wasn’t able to find the right Korean words that night). I don’t know… anyway going back…

Last May 26th Kim Sun-Ah left another message (and photo) in Facebook. She started with:

이궁..어느 언어로 써야할지 몰라…참…난감하네요.”

And ended it with:

Suna Unnie didn’t know… but this is one of my motivations to pursue linguistics. I started finding languages interesting as I interact with her fans from different parts of the world.

Anyway, I left a comment:

I guess I wouldn’t have left a comment if Suna Unnie didn’t include Turkish and Indonesian on her message. It’s common for her to write greetings and salutations in 4 languages (Korean, Japanese, Chinese and English) but it’s the first time she uses more than 4 languages. 🙂 But I left this comment without any expectations. As I’ve said, it was just a joke. I’m not even sure if Suna Unnie will be able to read it.

And I was surprised that after a few minutes, Suna Unnie replied:

I wasn’t expecting such a reply from her. And yes, finally she’s talking to me in Korean!!!

I left a reply (2 replies) after about 10 minutes because I actually didn’t notice that she left a reply since I wasn’t expecting any. After that she didn’t reply anymore. I thought I replied too late and she didn’t get to read it anymore. Probably she logged out since I didn’t reply right away. I stayed up until around 4:00am chatting with friends and fellow fans. I thought I missed another chance to make Suna Unnie speak in Filipino. And I said that when the third time comes along, I’ll definitely make sure I can make her speak in Filipino. ㅎㅎㅎ

When I woke up, she surprised me once again! She edited her original message and added ‘Maraming Salamat’.

Since her debut, she has been with Sidus HQ. After the Thursday’s-Child-lawsuit-brouhaha and all the other little controversies here and there, she transfered to Yedang Entertainment (2008?) where one of her showbiz bestfriends, Kim Jung-Eun, is also a contract artist. Kim Jung-Eun eventually left Yedang after her contract. And so did Kim Sun-Ah. And now she’s part of King Kong.

I’m happy with the move. She has been with Sidus HQ for a long time and they have given her big breaks and projects – including her biggest break My Name Is Kim Sam Soon of course. But, in my personal opinion, they weren’t to handle her well post-SamSoon. She became really popular but aside from tremendous CFs, there weren’t any follow-up projects. And when there was one, Kim Sun-Ah ended up being sued for breach of contract. I’m thankful to them for taking care of Suna Unnie for many years, but I feel bad because it seems they weren’t able to take care of her well during her last few years with them.

I’m grateful to Yedang for picking Kim Sun-Ah up from her hiatus. They came when she doesn’t have projects and rarely visible. And they have given her projects – City Hall included. Plus her overseas fan meetings! For that I’ll always be grateful. But somehow, again in my own opinion, they are slow and not very interactive.

King Kong Entertainment has started it with a kick, especially among Kim Sun-Ah’s fans – including overseas fans. They are the ones behind Kim Sun-Ah’s Facebook Page that is a really really REALLY awesome treat among Kim Sun-Ah’s fans – local and overseas. Even Kim Sun-Ah herself said they are very diligent. So I’m pinning my hopes in King Kong Entertainment. I truly hope that they will take care of Kim Sun-Ah really well. And I hope that Suna Unnie gets to stay with them for a long time.

Coincidentally the name ‘King Kong’ has a special place among Kim Sun-Ah’s fans. Anyone who have seen City Hall would understand. Jo Guk (Cha Seung-Won) nicknamed Mi Rae (Kim Sun-Ah) as King Kong and have called her that way a number of times in the drama. So, borrowing Jo Guk’s line in the drama, I’d say, “King Kong, Fighting!”

Kim Sun Ah’s official facebook opened last May 20th. Her facebook is filled with photos of her work activities as well as videos and behind the scenes. The photos also show us the reality action, funny appearence and interesting backstage stories.

Her agency (King Kong Entertainment) said in a phone interview, “Kim Sun Ah receives much fame as a Hallyu star, that’s why as soon as her facebook opened we received warm support from local (Korean) fans and of course overseas fans.”, “Through facebook, we can surely convey news and various information about Actress Kim Sun Ah in a timely manner. In addition, through Kim Sun Ah’s personal genuine/sincere stories/talk, fans can expect to be able to communicate more closely”

Also in a phone interview, Kim Sun Ah said, “My heart is truly grateful because it hasn’t been long since (my) Facebook opened, but a lot of people have already came (found it), gave support/cheer and left very nice messages (good words). It seems like everyone’s warm words have greater effect (effectiveness) than any other tonic. By starting facebook, I can share close conversation with many people”.

Meanwhile, Kim Sun Ah’s movie “Fighting Spirit” (working title, Directed by Kim Sang-Jin) has completed filming and is planned to be released this coming fall, and she’s expected to return to TV through SBS Weekend Drama Special “Scent of a Woman” (working title).

It was not the first time – but it feels like the first time all the time.

So, yesterday was the launch of Kim Sun-Ah’s Official Facebook page. We’ve been crazily waiting for it since it was announced the night before the opening. When it was opened at exactly 12:00nn (Seoul Time), I was the third person to like it (I think). And I was the first one to make a wall post.

All throughout the day, fans came by and left wall posts one after the other. I keep refreshing the page mainly because I want to read the wall posts by her fans. A big percentage of my Facebook friends are her fans (as of this time 85 out of 1,230 likes were my friends). I was happy seeing familiar faces on Kim Sun-Ah’s wall and at the same time I was happy reading messages from people I don’t know saying how much they like Kim Sun-Ah, how happy they are that she’s on Facebook, and asking her questions. It makes my heart warm and it makes me feel proud. Plus I also enjoyed that about half of the wall posts are in Korean, thus I get to test my Korean and see whether I can understand them or not.

Around 7:00pm (Seoul Time) Kim Sun-Ah started leaving comments on posts on her wall. She started replying from the most recent post and moved her way to down. I keep refreshing the page as she leaves replies one after the other. As I stare on my laptop screen, I kept wondering if it’s really her or her management staff. It was the first time she/they were online since the launch. They have prepared the facebook page days ago and were just opened to the public yesterday noon. Could it really be her? Maybe it’s just her staff.

The replies were mostly short. Mostly ‘thanks’ and ‘yes’ or ‘no’s. But they were cute like 아니네용, 안될껀없는뎅 and some spellings were modified like 우윳빛깔 (for 우유 빛깔) – exactly how our Suna Unnie used to do most of the time (I actually learned those from her). Still, I cannot be sure. Any Korean can do that anyway.

But when it reached Ayu’s post, my heart skipped a bit. She said Ayu’s name on her comment – and talked to her in Korean, then in Japanese. Suna Unnie knows Ayu. Ayu is a Japanese who speaks good Korean and who frequents Kim Sun-Ah’s events. Whenever there’s an event (a fanmeeting, a birthday party, an M.T., etc) Ayu is around – in Korea, in Japan, even in Taiwan. But she didn’t type in Japanese. She wrote them in 한글. She does that sometimes, but sometimes she also types in Japanase. But it could also very well be one of her staff. They must have known Ayu too. Especially because a few years ago, she helped MBC in translating Japanese-Korean-Japanese dialogue in Kim Sun-Ah’s drama When It’s At Night (밤이면 밤마다).

Another reply came. The post was: 자주 만나지요….. Kim Sun-Ah’s reply was: 아!!! 어디서……ㅋㅋ – that IS very Suna! It could really be her after all…

My heartbeat stops as another one of my post came nearer and nearer… and after pressing another Refresh…

There – at the bottom of my wall post – she replied hi..dia..^^

Right there and then, I died!

…

That must be her! No! That’s DEFINITELY her! There’s no way for her management team to know I’m Dia. I would be in doubt if I’m using Dia Soriano as my Facebook name. But I’m not.

In fact, I was surprised as to how Suna Unnie recognized that it was me – Dia. It’s the last 3 letters of my name but I’ve never used Alodia in her cafe and I never signed as Alodia on any letters/gifts I gave her. Unless she even read the shipper’s address on packages I sent her (and why would she do that?). Or maybe she remembered it when she sent me a package before. Nah! I’m sure it’s her manager who wrote my address on that parcel. Or maybe she remembered it when she signed a photo for me last year and she wrote my complete name – surname and all (because we were told to send her our full names!). But other than that, to her I’m always Dia. Hmm… she could’ve recognized our photo together since it was my profile picture in Facebook. After all it was on that day when I heard her call my name “Dia”. Or she must’ve read my first post on her wall when I wrote 디야 – 필리핀. Or my comments on some photos she uploaded that I also signed as 디야 – 필리핀. I really don’t know… And it really surprised me – a wonderful surprise at that!

But as my good Vietnamese friend told me, “Why are you surprised? Have you forgotten how good our Unnie’s memory is? She surely remembers you!”. She has a point. Our Unnie is known for her good memory. She remembers events, dates, names and faces well. She also replied to another fan, Yummy (a fan from Hong Kong who’s also a frequent attendee of events), with a ‘hi..yummy^^’

My friend has a point. 압니다. 알았지만 놀랐다. I know, but it still surprises me. I just can’t believe it that she recognized me again – and can still remember me. Her “calling” my name again feels like heaven.

The first time she “said” my name was 2 years ago. My friend told me: (선아언니가) 디야 한국말이 많이 늘었는데 반말이랑 섞여있다고 했어요. (*facepalm ㅠㅠ*). The second time was last year – on her cafe. I seldom almost never got a chance to get a reply from her on her cafe. It needs timing and luck. And I’m not very good with both – especially the first one. In fact, all these years, I only got one reply from her – and that was last year. But on that one reply, she said my name: 유투…. 디야….^^. The third time, which was also last year, she said my name in front of me: “Dia, please be careful.”

Then yesterday, once more, she said my name.

My friend said Suna Unnie has a knack for calling my name. 🙂

———

She didn’t reply to everyone though. I was actually surprised that she exerted effort to reply to a handful of fans. She started from the most recent and replied to the next 22 or 23 posts (and liked one post). Then went back and replied to 2 or 3 new ones (a total of 25 replies). She said on the last post that that would be all for the day. And she never re-reply anymore. A couple of hours later she posted a new photo and a new message but she never replied to posts anymore.

———

Finally I had my luck yesterday. I was not planning to post another message on her wall after my first one. I don’t want to flood it. I’ve said my piece. I’m simply enjoying reading other fans’ wall posts. However a good friend from Taiwan, Selena, posted: we are Taiwan fans .love you forever~~♥♥♥♥♥ So I wrote on again on Suna Unnie’s wall: We are Filipino fans. And we love you too~~ ♥♥♥♥♥ – as a response to Selena’s post somehow. If Selena didn’t post that, I would’ve stayed quiet – and I wouldn’t have gotten a comment from Suna Unnie since she didn’t reached the bottom posts (the early posts). Thanks Selena! 🙂

I wished she’d seen my first post though. It’s better and it makes more sense – I think. Plus I made an effort to write it in Korean. ㅋㅋㅋ. I’m not sure if my Korean is correct, but at least I didn’t mix formal with banmal speech anymore, did I? O.o

——–

Facebook has never been this fun. Even if Suna Unnie is not online, it’s still fun. There’s a certain atmosphere on her page that gave warmth to my heart. Reading fans’ comments, meeting more and more new friends – It’s just wonderful and heartwarming.

But somehow it’s very addicting. All I did yesterday and today is to be on Facebook (and do my part time job). I didn’t have time left to study Korean anymore. But I get to read a lot of Korean and get to write Korean responses too. Would that compensate for me not doing my Korean lessons for the past 2 days? LOL 😀

We heard about this 빅뉴스 (big news) a few minutes before midnight last night. And even though it was said that it won’t open until noontime today, I/we simply can’t sleep due to excitement. I surfed the net, listened to some podcast, and even managed to watched a couple of episodes of a drama I’m watching (which is quite surprising because every night I am usually knocked out just after one episode) before I can finally doze off – at past 4:00 in the morning. I actually wanted to sleep early to make sure that I’ll be awake when it opens this morning (and because I have work). I woke up early nonetheless. And was not feeling sleepy at all.

And I’m just as happy as a child opening gifts on a fine Christmas Morning. ^_^

It’s not like this is the first time we/I’ll get to interact with her online. She (and her management team sometimes) is always visible in her fancafe anyway (well, not really always… call it regular instead). But somehow being in Facebook makes a lot of difference!

First, she can connect with more of her foreigner fans since not all are (and can be) members of her fancafe. I’m glad that more fans will get to see her photo uploads and messages. They can also easily disseminate information regarding updates about, and upcoming events of, Suna Unnie. And it will be easily accessible.

I’m also happy because I’m always on Facebook. So this time I hope I won’t miss anything. There are numerous times when I missed a lot in the fancafe simply because I feel lazy to log-in – or I didn’t log-in at the right time. In facebook, I’m always online.

It’s also a good way for her fans to interact more. I’m also glad that Korean member of her fancafe are starting to create their facebook accounts today. This way I can keep in touch with them more regularly since it’s easier to leave messages and updates in facebook than in the cafe.

It’s also another chance for me to make myself read in Korean and Japanese.

Plus it’s easier for Kim Sun-Ah and her management team to upload photos and videos. They already uploaded a bunch of photos – some of them were released for the first time. Visit her facebook if you want to see more. But here are some of my favorites (there are actually a lot of pretty-and-never-before-seen-ones but here are some of the most notable – for me at least)

credit: Kim Sun Ah's Official Facebook Page

This photo is from her graduation in Kyung Hee University. The tall pretty girl beside her is my first Korean friend Hyun Joo. I asked Hyun Joo to give my congratulatory gift to Suna Unnie that day. This event is very special to me for two reasons. 1.) this is the reason why I’m back to school now and 2.) this is when I found out that Suna Unnie knows me. ♥ 2009.02.19 – I will never forget that date.

credit: Kim Sun Ah's Official Facebook Page

This photo is taken in her suite in Sherwood Hotel, Taipei. 2010.06.13. I think right after we had our photo together. I’m glad to know that she received the ‘명폼백’ that the Taiwanese fans prepared.

Here’s me with the 명품백 before the fanmeeting started.

The 명품백 is actually inspired from a romantic scene from her drama City Hall.

And these 2 photos surprised me so much…

credit: Kim Sun Ah's Official Facebook Page

credit: Kim Sun Ah's Official Facebook Page

These were taken from the fanmeeting in Taiwan June 12, 2010. I was the one holding the little banner with ‘사랑해요 김선아 We Love You from the Philippines’. I was so surprised when I saw these photos. I didn’t know that they took a photo of us. I’m glad they kept these photos. And I’m so touched they chose to upload these photos.

Today is simply a good day! Merry Christmas everyone! ㅋㅋㅋ How can a person makes me so crazy like this?

————–

NOTE: Kim Sun Ah’s official Facebook Page is maintained by her agency. Information, event details, videos and photos were mostly provided by the agency. However postings marked “sunny” were written and uploaded by Kim Sun Ah personally. There is also an album named “^^I’m Sunny^^” where she will be posting messages and photos.

새… 출… 발!

"찌질대지마, 어리광 그만 부려!"
-여왕의 교실의 마선생님

34희 한국어능력시험April 20th, 2014

TOPIK! Fighting!

Currently Reading

내 이름은 김삼순

Currently watching:

내 여자친구는 구미호
미녀의 탄생
각시탈

What is a good drama?

A good drama for me sucks you in. Lets you enter their world no matter how unrealistic it may be. Lets you embrace the characters. Wrenches your heart. Pulls your heartstrings. And leaves you with a warm fuzzy feeling that makes you want to snuggle in your blankets, sigh and do some thinking. It gives you chills down your spine and crawls under your skin once in a while. And you feel a certain kind of sadness when you finally reach the end. Not really because of the story's ending, but because of the realization that the wonderful journey with the characters has already ended.